


Colds and Revelations

by Thestruggleismelon



Series: Star Wars Modern AU [15]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Aye finally got over my writers block, F/M, Heart-to-Heart, Mother-Son Relationship, post-“breakdown”
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 12:35:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21816562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thestruggleismelon/pseuds/Thestruggleismelon
Summary: Anakin snaps at his mother, Padmé overhears them fighting when she pops round to see if Anakin wants to go get a present with her. Anakin has a slight cold and Padmé tells him about her history with the new kid in school, Rush Clovis. Anakin gets jealous and they discuss their loyalty to each other.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Shmi Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Satine Kryze, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Series: Star Wars Modern AU [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1496909
Comments: 15
Kudos: 46





	Colds and Revelations

**Author's Note:**

> Aye, finally got over the writers block and figured out where to go with Anakin’s mental health. The Clovis Arc. I know toward the end they talk about leaving one another, but those are long shot “If I could wed any celebrity” scenarios that will never happen in a million years.

“Anakin! You didn’t clean the bathroom well enough!” Shmi shouted. Her family would be hosting Christmas this year, and Anakin had dodged cleaning for the last two days. 

“What do you mean? I did the mirrors, the floor, the toilet, wiped the sink out, wiped the counter off, and cleaned the faucet! I also fixed the drain before I deep cleaned that toilet!” He shouted back, stomping to the master bathroom. “I didn’t clean this one; I cleaned the other one! Ben was supposed to clean this one!” Ben was starting to get on his nerves; this was the fourth time he’d bailed on his chores and getting Anakin in trouble.

“Ben! Come re-clean the bathroom!” Shmi shouted, waiting for her oldest’s footsteps to sound. “Ben! Now please!” Silence greeted them again. ”Benjamin!” 

”Ben isn't here! He’s out with his girlfriend, Satine!” Ahsoka shouted over the noise of the vacuum. 

”Anakin, will you touch this room up?”

”No, I always clean the bathrooms. Sorry, I had obligations to my job and to Padmé that caused me to skip out on cleaning the last two days, but Ben has been home for a whole week and hasn't done anything!” Anakin protested, knowing he was walking on thin ice. Shmi’s eyes narrowed as she stared up at her son. 

“Are you really pushing this button?” 

“Yeah! Is this pick on Anakin day? I had to work yesterday and the day before, then after work yesterday I had to run out to go to my girlfriend’s holiday party! I’ve worked my ass off all semester, and for the last six weeks it’s been ‘oh Anakin is going to fail out of school because he won’t do his homework’ and ‘Anakin isn’t going to college,’ and ‘why won’t he pick a career like his brother’s where he’d have to go to school,’ and I’m sick of it!” Shmi looked at him, stunned. Anakin never shouted at her like this. Anakin reminded her of when his father lost his temper and nearly beat Quinlan up. Anakin’s blue eyes held anger the same way his father’s used to. His jaw clenched, shoulders tightened, and chin jutted just like Quentin’s would.

“Then, do your homework!” She shouted back. 

“But why have you been hyper-focusing on me? Ben nearly failed his Intro to Criminology class, Owen definitely snuck Beru in last night, and Ahsoka is currently failing three of her classes!” He shouted. “Not to mention that all three of them haven’t helped out when harvest time rolled around for the last three seasons!” Anakin didn’t give her a chance to respond; he stomped off to his room, slamming the door and swearing.

* * *

Padmé approached Anakin’s house, pulling her coat tighter and ducking her head against the wind. Shouting could be heard from inside, and Padmé could barely see Ben kissing some blonde on the side of the house. 

The door swung open just as she raised her fist to knock, and she nearly hit Owen in his face. 

“Padmé, hey. Maybe you could get through to Anakin. He’s in a mood.” 

“Oh, I’m very familiar with his moods. I’ll see what I can do,” she laughed, stepping into the house and kicking her wet shoes off at the door. 

“Great, maybe it will make everything go smoothly. He’s in our room, by the way. The door might be locked, but there’s a key on top of the door frame.” 

“Thank you.” Padmé took the stairs two at a time, rushing to get to Anakin before he blew up at something minor. She nudged the door open, thanking the heavens it was unlocked. 

“Go the fuck away! I don’t want to talk!” He whipped around, his eyes flashing in anger at the intrusion. “Oh, it’s you,” he breathed, relaxing as his brain registered who she was. 

“It’s me. I came to see if you wanted to go and help me pick out something for tomorrow night, but Owen said you were in a mood,” Padmé said, shutting the door behind her. 

“I’m not in a mood,” he argued. 

“You yelled at me when I came in.” His face flushed, the tips of his ears turning red first and spreading to his cheeks and neck. “Why were you yelling? Let’s talk it out.” Padmé approached him, laying a hand on the small of his back and speaking softly. 

“I’m just pissed off because my mom blames me for something Ben didn’t do! And then she tried to make me do it anyway!” His voice had an edge to it, one she’d only ever heard him use when he spoke to Sebulba. “Then, when I said no, she asked me if I wanted to stir the pot, and then everything just rushed out of me!” He flopped onto his bed, pulling his old Barney doll to his chest with his right hand.

Padmé took a moment to study him. He looked exhausted. Dark circles were still prominent under his eyes, his face gaunt, and every muscle in his face tense. “Did you sleep okay last night?” She sat on the edge of his bed, placing a hand over his and entwining their fingers. 

“No,” he sighed, “I haven’t slept well since October, at least.” 

“Oh, Ani,” she whispered, shoving him over and lying next to him. “Do you need to take a nap? Is that why you’re angry?” 

“Probably, but that’s not the root of it.” He curled himself around her. “The main problem is that my mom is always on me about grades and graduation, and Ben can nearly flunk a course, and Ahsoka can fail three classes, and nothing happens to them!” 

“I know,” she whispered, running her fingers through his hair. “Listen to me carefully, when we get back to school, let’s go and talk to Mrs. Secura. We’ll tell her that you’ve been overwhelmed, okay? I’ll stay beside you the entire time.” He was quiet for a moment before speaking. 

“Okay,” he agreed.

“Ani, we should also get you to see a doctor, just in case you may have a physical illness that’s making you so irritable.” 

“Don’t like doctors,” he muttered, pressing his nose into her neck. “They always end up taking my blood, and they give me bruises because they can’t find my vein. Then I look like a heroin addict.” She smiled, still carding her fingers through his hair. He sighed, his breath tickling her neck. 

“Have you been feeling lousy recently?” He nodded. “What hurts?”

“My nose has been stuffy a lot, and sometimes my throat hurts, and I’ve been tired, but I wake up a lot during the night to shuffle around and prop my head up, so my nose isn’t so stuffy. Also, sometimes my eyes will hurt.” He shivered, pressing himself closer. His forehead pressed against her cheek, and she snuck a hand up to take is temperature. 

“You’re running a slight fever. That’s probably why everything is overwhelming. The cold you have is throwing everything out of whack.” She kissed his head. “Let’s get some Motrin or something in you and take a nap and see how you feel after.” He grunted, his eyes closed, and trying to soak in as much of her body heat as she could. 

“How about we just nap?” He must have been falling asleep because his words came out slurred. 

“No, babe. You should take something for it. I promise you’ll feel better,” she told him, trying to be soothing but firm at the same time. He grunted, and Padmé slipped out from under him before heading to the medicine cabinet. 

“Did you get him to chill?” Ahsoka asked suddenly, leaning against the doorframe to the bathroom.

“Anakin is chill, everything is just overwhelming him,” Padmé explained, taking the box of Motrin off the shelf. “He’s got a slight cold, and your mom constantly getting on him about next year is making him worry, which makes him feel worse, and it’s a never-ending cycle with Anakin.” Ahsoka snorted. 

“Anakin never worries about anything. He just exists.” 

“There’s a lot he doesn’t like to show, Snips. Especially around you.” Padmé patted her back, and went back into Anakin’s room, shutting the door to keep the noises of the household to a minimum. He’d flipped positions while she was gone. He sat with his back against the wall and his eyes glued to the show he’d turned on.

“What are you watching?”

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Care to join me?”

“Yeah, let’s get medicine in you first, though.” 

“Okay, let me go pee first,” he paused the TV and left the room. Padmé sighed and glanced around. The blue walls were covered in posters.  _ The Avengers, Harry Potter,  _ sports teams, colleges, all stared back at her. The ceiling was also blue, darker than the walls, and had glow in the dark stars stuck on it. Owen’s bed sat on the other wall, the foot of it facing the door, and the plaid sheets rumpled. Dirty clothes littered the floor along with candy wrappers, soda cans, and papers from school. The room had a weird smell. Owen was an athlete, so it smelt like stinky gym clothes mixed with the trash on the floor with a hint of a teenage boy. She didn’t understand how they couldn’t notice it. Anakin came back, closing the door again and sitting next to her. 

“Are you ready?” He shrugged, accepting the bottle of medicine and downing a dose. He grimaced. 

“Tastes like garbage,” Padmé smirked, he could be dramatic when he wanted to be. 

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic, love,” she giggled as she set the bottle of meds on his bedside table. 

“Do you still think I have seasonal depression?” He asked, laying back on the bed, pulling her to lay with him. He shifted around, laying his head on her chest, 

“Not as strongly as I did before, I think the cold you’ve contracted is messing with your emotions.” Padmé stroked his hair gently. 

“Guess what Windu did?” 

“What?” 

“He called my mom to tell her that I’ve been late to school eighteen times! And that he threatened not to have me walk at graduation!” 

“That’s not fair to you,” she agreed. Her fingers are dropping lower to massage his neck and play with the curls that hung down. “He should have given you a chance to talk to her and then called if you got caught coming in late again.” Anakin didn’t say anything, his fingers playing with a loose thread on the pocket of her jeans. “Have you met the new kid yet, Rush?” She asked, attempting to get him to talk. 

“No, why? Is he a weirdo?” 

“No, he was my first-grade boyfriend, then he moved away for the last 11 years.” Anakin felt something flare through his chest; he didn’t like that. 

“He’s an ex of yours?” 

“First-grade boyfriends don’t count, the only other boy I dated was Palo, remember? He got arrested like three months into eighth-grade and never been seen since.” Padmé kept rubbing the back of his neck, slowly moving lower to rub his shoulders as well. 

“Oh yeah? Wonder what he did to get tossed in prison.” 

“Rumor is he got caught selling coke in the boys’ bathroom,” she said. Anakin relaxed into her arms and sighed. “Anyway, Rush Clovis tried to ask me out and I told him I was with you, and he wouldn’t back off so Rex had to step in and pretend to ask me about history homework.” 

“He tried to ask you out? And then wouldn’t shut up until my best friend stepped in and chased him off?” His temper flared again. This Clovis guy didn’t know who he was messing with.

“Anakin, it’s fine. He backed off when Rex stepped in. I want to introduce you to Rush so he can back off permanently.” 

“No! I don’t want to meet this guy!” Padmé watched his face turn red, his hands curling into fists, and all of his muscles tensing again. “He tried to ask you out!” 

“Calm down, I didn’t go out with him! If he can see what you look like, he won’t bug me again!” She grabbed his hand with her right hand, pulled his head down with her left, and let his forehead rest against hers. “I’m dating  _ you _ , not Rush. I love you, I shouldn’t have spoken up about him while you were obviously angry about something,” her fingers danced along the back of his neck, “you’re going to have to trust me on this one okay? I’m a big girl and can handle myself.” Padmé pressed soft kisses to his face. 

“I don’t want to calm down! Let me tell you why I’m so angry, there’s nobody I can go to talk to about big stuff except you! My grandma is good for hugs and scraped knees but she doesn’t understand what it’s like to be a teenager! You get it! You go along with my self-deprecating jokes and stop me when I go too far, you know exactly what’s overwhelming with homework. You’re smart and caring and funny and you understand me! Then this new guy tries to come in and mess everything up!” Tears flowed down his cheeks, the whites of his eyes going red and he dropped his head back to her shoulder before speaking again. “I don’t know what I would do if you left me.” 

Padmé felt her heart break for him. He wasn’t jealous because Rush wanted to date her too, he was scared she’d dump him  _ for  _ Rush. Sobs racked his body as his tears soaked through her shirt onto her skin. Pressing her face into his hair, she let a few tears go too. “Anakin, I would never leave you for Clovis. He’s an arrogant, privileged asshole.” She dropped a kiss to the crown of his head. “You have grown up so much since we started dating. I’m so proud of you. I’ve told you many times before that you’re the man I’m going to spend the rest of my life with. I’ve never been so confident about a decision before.” He pressed his nose further into her neck. “For the record, I would leave you for Tom Holland, but not for Rush Clovis.” 

“Gurl, I’d leave you for Tom Holland. And maybe Kiera Knightly. But she’d have to be dressed as the the pirate king from the end of  _ Pirates of the Caribbean _ for that,” Anakin’s muttered. She could feel the smile on his face as he spoke. He finally lifted his head from its hiding spot and looked at her. His eyes were still red and tears still rolled down his cheeks. “Sorry about yelling at you, and crying on you again.” Padmé smiled softly, wiping the stray tears from his cheeks and kissed him softly. 

“Never be afraid to cry around me. You’re not a robot, it’s okay to have emotions and to feel things. I know you’ll be there when I have a breakdown too,” his cheeks turned a light pink as he blushed and avoided her eyes, “Anakin, I promise it’s okay. To feel like this means you're human.” 

Anakin shrugged, ran a hand through his hair and finally looked up at her. “I’m still sorry I yelled at you. You don’t deserve that.” Anakin kissed her cheek as he apologized. Padmé deserves the world. She cupped his jaw and pulled him in for a kiss, smiling into it and letting her tongue tease the seam of his lips. He sighed, pressed himself against her a little harder and whining when she pulled back. 

“I’ve already forgiven you for shouting at me,” she whispered, “I really need to go get that present and we’ve been up here alone for an hour and a half. I don’t want your mom to get suspicious about what we’re doing up here.” He smirked, blowing air out of his nose and his lips quirking into a half smile. 

“Do you want me to drive you to Target?” Anakin asked, clambering out of the bed and handing her one of his hoodies. 

“Yes, please,” Padmé replied, taking the hoodie from him and patting his butt lightly. “I take it the medicine kicked in?” 

“Yeah. Come on, get your shoes and your coat. I’ll start the car and wait for you outside.” Anakin kissed her forehead again, watching as she ran down the stairs and pulled his bedroom door closed. He was stupid when he thought she’d cheat on him. Anakin knows that they were going to be together forever. 


End file.
